Santa is the coordinator of her group La Fuerza (the force), and her story is representative of her group and of Esperanza's Haitian and Dominican clients generally (many of whom recently emigrated to the Dominican Republic from Haiti). Her group is located in the slums north of Santo Domingo, where running water (none of which is potable) and electricity are unreliable. She makes her home there in a simple, rented structure with her husband and three children.

Santa is excited to be taking her sixth loan with Esperanza after having successfully repaid her previous loans and grown her business. She plans to use this loan to invest in her business selling water and ice by purchasing a freezer to keep her wares cold. She will use the profits to save towards the day when she can move from her rented home into her own home. She thanks you all for your support.

Additional Information

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.